‘Supertrain’ comes into service – 25 minutes late and leaking water

Britain’s newest “supertrain” came into service yesterday setting off 25 minutes late and with the air conditioning leaking water.

The Hitachi 800 was due to leave Bristol Temple Meads for London Paddington at 6am sharp but did not depart until 6:25am due to unspecified “technical issues”.

Passengers were still forced to stand, despite claims that capacity on the new trains was increased by 20 per cent.

And one had their laptop damaged as water from the air conditioning poured into one of the carriages.

The air conditioning had to be turned off and passengers who paid £204 for a standard return to London were left uncomfortably warm in the unseasonably mild weather.

There was further embarrassment when the maiden journey ground to a halt at Taplow, Buckinghamshire because of an unexpected delay.

The first Hitachi Intercity Express trains are coming into service on the London-bristol line with Great Western Railways. They have a top speed of 148mph – but only after they reach Maidenhead in Berkshire, where the line becomes electrified.

The delays in rolling out electrification also mean that the engines will run on diesel fuel for part of their journeys.

Despite glitches some commuters said the new trains had “a nice environment” and said they did not care what fuel they ran on as long as they were on time. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “These are the smartest trains in the country, probably the best we have ever had in the country. This going to be a fantastic service, really regular trains and far more capacity.”